Mondi H1 earnings up 11 per cent, increase in dividend per share

Mondi’s results, which were released on Thursday, indicated that the group’s revenue was at 3.34 million euros in the six months ended June 2013 from 2.8 million euros in the same period in 2012.

Their Underlying operating profit was also up to 366 million euros in the six months ended June 2013 from 272 million euros in the same period last year.

Their interim dividend of 9.55 euro cents per share was up 7 per cent on the prior year interim dividend of 8.90 euro cents per share.

Operating profit was reported at 285 million euros from 272 million euros in 2012.

“A strong operating performance and benefits derived from our strategic acquisitions completed towards the end of the previous year have enabled Mondi to deliver record financial results despite what remains a challenging economic backdrop,” Mondi Group CEO David Hathorn said in a press statement.

“The strong profitability and relentless focus on performance is reflected in a return on capital employed of 14.8%, which remains well above our through-the-cycle hurdle rate of 13%.”

Mondi’s South African division saw underlying operating profit increase to 44 million euros in the six months ended 30 June 2013 from 29 million euros in the same period in 2012. This was a 52 per cent increase.

Capital expenditure decreased to 14 million euros from 17 million euros in 2012.

Export margins for the South African division in particular improved because of the weak rand.

In May, the Mondi Group announced the proposed closure of one of two if its newsprint machines in Merebank in KwaZulu-Natal, which stopped production from 1 July this year. The Merebank mill will however continue to operate the remaining 120,000 tonne per annum newsprint machine.

The Mondi Group has operations in Richards Bay and Merebank, KwaZulu-Natal.

Mondi has operations across 30 countries with key operations in central Europe, Russia and South Africa. The group also has over 25, 700 employees and had a revenue of 5.8 billion euros in 2012.